1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to the field of telephonic communications. More particularly, this invention pertains to a high density bay for providing cross-connection between telephonic communication circuits.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A digital cross-connect system (DSX) provides a location for interconnecting two digital transmission paths. The apparatus for a DSX is located in one or more frames, or bays, usually in a telephone central office. The DSX apparatus also provides jack access to the transmission paths.
DSX jacks are well known and include a plurality of spring contacts for receiving tip-and-ring plugs. The jacks are commonly ganged in a common housing which is mounted on a frame or bay. The jacks are typically hard wired to wire termination pins which are mounted on a side of the bay opposite the jacks.
The amount of jacks or cross-connect points which are contained on a bay of given size is referred to as the density of a bay. As the cross-connect bay density increases, the management of telephone communication wires in the bay becomes increasingly complex. For high density DSX bays, wire management is critical.
Examples of a high density DSX bay are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,737,985 and 4,649,236. The DSX bays of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,737,985 and 4,649,236 has a front face which carries a plurality of jack fields. The back face includes a plurality of horizontal spaced-apart rows of connector blocks (item 27 in FIG. 3 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,985). As shown in FIG. 3 of the aforesaid patent, the rear side of the connector bay includes upper and lower troughs 29, 30 through which wires may transverse in a horizontal path. Troughs 29, 30 are connected by a vertical trough 22 disposed along a side edge of the rear face of the panel. Horizontal troughs 25 in FIG. 3 of the aforesaid patent extend horizontally between the horizontal rows of connecting block 27. The horizontal rows 25 are generally coplanar with the vertical trough 22. (The coplanar arrangment is best shown in FIG. 4 of U.S. Pat. 4,649,236).
The common planar arrangement of the horizontal and vertical troughs of the high density bay of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,737,985 and 4,649,236 results in interference of wires passing through tho intersection of horizontal and vertical troughs. This interference adversely impacts on the wire management of the bay and significantly reduces the versatility of the bay. For example, in a cross-connect installation, it is common to have many bays disposed in side-by-side relation. It is desirable for a wire to pass from one bay to other bays in the installation. However, with a bay such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,737,985 and 4,649,236, it is impractical or ill advised to extend a wire a distance more than one bay away.